Watch: Surfer Miraculously Survives After Monster Wave Eats Him Alive
A surfer went viral for surviving a massive wave in Hawaii last Sunday, crediting years of training for his survival despite the terrifying encounter with the power of nature.
Ty Simpson-Kane was surfing on Dec. 22 at Peahi beach on the north shore of Maui and engaged a massive wave.
But the 20-year-old wiped out in horrifying fashion, falling from his board and rapidly flipping head-over-heels as the mass of water came down on top of him.
He not only survived the encounter with relatively few injuries after activating his inflatable vest once he ended up underwater, but lived to tell the tale in an interview with Hawaii News Now.
“It’s almost as if you’re doing 80 in your car on the highway and then hitting a brick wall,” Simpson-Kane described. “And when I hit the water, it knocked the wind out of me, so I was doing those cartwheels down the face of the wave with no air in my lungs.”
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The surfer has been chasing “Jaws,” a nickname for the sudden massive waves that unpredictably occur at Peahi beach, since he was 13 years old.
Simpson-Kane has prepared for such dangerous situations by practicing holding his breath for five minutes at a time and doing sprint laps in the pool.
But he was also psychologically equipped to handle the threat.
“I like to just go into the darkest part of my brain and just shut everything off,” he said.
Simpson-Kane survived the encounter with a sore lower back and some “casual whiplash,” plus a viral video that quickly spread across Instagram.
Rather than stopping for the day after facing down “Jaws,” Simpson-Kane merely steeled his nerves and kept surfing.
The waves at Peahi beach can exceed 60 feet in size in the winter months, with professional surfers visiting the location from October to March as they try to conquer “Jaws,” according to a report from Outkick.
Simpson-Kane further reflected on the incident in a post to Instagram.
“There are no words that can truly describe the energy and the power that was surging,” he wrote. “Pe’ahi was alive in all her glory and I still can’t believe I was able to get a wave paddling.”
“Thank you to my family and my team for supporting me. I couldn’t do it without your guys love and support,” he added, thanking his aunt and uncle as well as the water safety teams.
“Thank you to all the photogs and videographers for capturing the moments that we can share with the world. I have the best village,” he continued. “To everyone that has called texted and messaged me to check in on me thank you.
“We’ve only just begun!”
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